LibraryGuides: Health Humanities: Poetry

Find & Read a Poem Daily

Poem-a-Day | Academy of American Poets
Since 2018, the Academy of American Poets has invited twelve new Guest Editors to each curate a month of Poem-a-Day, the original and only daily poetry series sharing previously unpublished poems by today’s poets.
Poem of the Day | Poetry Foundation
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.
Audio Poem of the Day | Poetry Foundation
Audio recordings of classic and contemporary poems read by poets and actors, delivered every day.

Searching for Poetry

JaySearch Tips: Searching by Subject

This page includes a curated list of poetry and adjacent titles available in our collections. If you're interested in other titles, you can search our catalog, JaySearch, using "Subjects." In JaySearch, under Advance Search, change the search filter from the "Title" default to "Subject." Use the "Resource Type" limiter on the lefthand side to limit to articles for more scholarly information o poetry published in a journal, reviews for book reviews, or books if you're looking to read poetry monographs or anthologies or books about writing and reading poetry.

If we don't carry a print or electronic title, be sure to try requesting via InterLibrary Loan or work with a librarian to help find what you're looking for.

Use the link(s) below to browse materials by indicated subject that the University Libraries has access to.

Poetry in Health Sciences Journals

In addition to journals specific to the health or medical humanities, many health sciences journals, such as the American Journal of Nursing, recognize the value of publishing and sharing poetry for and by health care professionals. The following are a select list of publications available through our subscriptions that publish poems.

To submit your own work, be sure to go to the journal's official website and check sections such as "Author Guidelines" or "Submission Criteria" for professional eligibility, content scope, length, and other criteria in the journal's submission and peer review process.

Poetry & Medicine | JAMA
Each issue includes a section "Poetry & Medicine" with a poem and often a contextual note. To read online, search for the section title or a specific poem in JAMA's search field.
Art of Nursing | American Journal of Nursing
Each issue of AJN includes creative writing and visual artworks related to nursing and health care. To read online, search for the "Art of Nursing" section in the AJN search field.
Poetry | Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation
JHR publishes poetry from healthcare professionals, patients, or family members and caregivers.

Select Articles

Brady, L., De Vries, S., Gallow, R., George, A., Gilson, L., Louw, M., Martin, A. W., Shamis, K., & Stuart, T. (2019). Paramedics, poetry, and film: Health policy and systems research at the intersection of theory, art, and practice. Human Resources for Health, 17(1), 64–64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0373-5

Davies, E. A. (2018). Why we need more poetry in palliative care. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 8(3), 266–270. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2017-001477

Gray, M. F. (June 9, 2023). Drawing, making music and writing poetry can support healing and bring more humanity to health care in US hospitals. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/drawing-making-music-and-writing-poetry-can-support-healing-and-bring-more-humanity-to-health-care-in-us-hospitals-204684

Haddad, A. (2020). Thinking About Difficulties: Using poetry to enhance interpretative and collaborative skills in healthcare ethics education. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 29(3), 459–469. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180120000201

Joshi, A., Paralikar, S., Kataria, S., Kalra, J., Harkunni, S., & Singh, T. (2022). Poetry in medicine: A pedagogical tool to foster empathy among medical students and health care professionals. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 35(2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/08893675.2022.2043119

Petteway, R. J. (2021). Poetry as praxis + “illumination”: Toward an epistemically just health promotion for resistance, healing, and (re)Imagination. Health Promotion Practice, 22(1_suppl), 20S-26S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839921999048

Shook, & Diaz. (2020). Poetry as wonder, desire, rage, and memory: A conversation with Natalie Diaz. World Literature Today, 94(4), 12-. https://doi.org/10.7588/worllitetoda.94.4.0012.

Select Books

Alternative Medicine by Rafael Campo In his sixth collection of poetry, the celebrated poet-physician Rafael Campo examines the primal relationship between language, empathy, and healing. As masterfully crafted as they are viscerally powerful, these poems propose voice itself as a kind of therapeutic medium. For all that most ails us, Alternative Medicine offers the balm of song and the salve of the imagination: from the wounds of our stubborn differences of identity, to the pain of alienation in a world of unfeeling technologies, to the shame of the persistent injustices in our society, Campo's poetry displays a deep understanding of hurt as the possibility for healing. Demonstrating an abiding faith in our survival, this stunning, heartfelt book ultimately embraces the great diversity of our ways of knowing and dreaming, of needing and loving, and of living and dying.
ISBN: 0822377136
Publication Date: 2013
Me (Moth) by Amber McBride FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE A debut YA novel-in-verse by Amber McBride, Me (Moth) is about a teen girl who is grieving the deaths of her family, and a teen boy who crosses her path. Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted. Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he'll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones. Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable. Here is an exquisite and uplifting novel about identity, first love, and the ways that our memories and our roots steer us through the universe.
ISBN: 9781250780362
Publication Date: 2021
An Otherwise Healthy Woman by Amy Haddad First Place in Creative Works from the American Journal of Nursing's Book of the Year Awards Second Place in Professional Issues from the American Journal of Nursing's Book of the Year Awards The poems in An Otherwise Healthy Woman delve into the complexity of modern health care, illness, and healing, offering an alternative narrative to heroics and miracles. Drawing on Amy Haddad's firsthand experiences as a nurse and patient, the poems in this collection teach us to take a moment to stop and acknowledge the longing for compassion in each of us, what ought to be the immediate human response to suffering. The poet isn't afraid to explore her own fears and failures or to find joy and humor in the many roles women play. An Otherwise Healthy Woman presents the intimate experiences of a nurse, the vulnerable perspective of a patient, and the lessons of caring for family.
ISBN: 9781496227850
Publication Date: 2022
The Shores of Welcome Home: Poems by Bruce Weigl In this Isabella Gardner Award-winning collection of poems, Bruce Weigl meditates on the ghosts and the grace one encounters in life’s second act. A celebrated poet and veteran of the Vietnam War, Weigl offers a nuanced sense of aging as a departure and death as a returning home. With a sage’s eye for mindfulness and a soldier’s longing for the country where he served, Weigl’s poems reveal the long scars left by Vietnam and the new possibilities one encounters in the wake of life-altering experiences.
ISBN: 1942683901
Publication Date: 2019
When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz "I write hungry sentences," Natalie Diaz once explained in an interview, "because they want more and more lyricism and imagery to satisfy them." This debut collection is a fast-paced tour of Mojave life and family narrative: A sister fights for or against a brother on meth, and everyone from Antigone, Houdini, Huitzilopochtli, and Jesus is invoked and invited to hash it out. These darkly humorous poems illuminate far corners of the heart, revealing teeth, tails, and more than a few dreams.
ISBN: 1619320339
Publication Date: 2012

The Poetry of Pediatrics: Health Humanities in Practice

Poetry Initiatives

Readings for First Responders | Arizona State University
In partnership with local hospitals, Professor Mark Lussier started "Readings for First Responders" that offers short videos in which English faculty will read a poem as a gift to the first responders, who may watch and sit for a moment with a poem, a passage that helps them reflect on their daily work.
Glossary of Poetic Terms | Poetry Foundation
Browse or search terms in this interactive glossary that includes hyperlinked examples and enables browsing poetry that employs that term.
Medical Humanities Anthology | Poets.org
Read an online curated anthology of poetry related to the medical humanities.
Shelter in Poems: A Virtual Reading
As many turned to poetry during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy of American Poets launched Shelter in Poems, an initiative that invited poets and poetry lovers to share poems on social media that give them comfort or courage. The Virtual Reading, held on 4/30/20, extended this idea with a special offering of poems read by poets laureate, actors, musicians, artists, and more.